Bulldogs dominate Southside

FORT SMITH -- Arguably playing its best 21 minutes of basketball, top-ranked Fayetteville simply dominated Fort Smith Southside. In two and a half quarters, the Bulldogs built a 36-point lead en route to an impressive 68-36 7A-West boys victory over the Rebels Tuesday night at Southside Gymnasium. "When we have the energy on the defensive end and then we share the ball and pushit up the floor, we're pretty good," Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. "This is the best we've played in a while. The last few ball games, we have not looked as good." It wasn't like Southside (11-12, 3-6) was not battling and scrambling against the state's best team, but Fayetteville (20-2, 9-0) simply overwhelmed the Rebels in building a 44-19 halftime lead. "Anytime you can go on the road and shoot like we did in the first half, you have to be pleased," Adams said. "The credit goes to those kids because they knew where the ball should go. We had a height advantage on offense so we got the ball inside." The Bulldogs grabbed control of the game at the start, jumping out to an 18-3 lead in the five-and-a-half minutes of the game. Defensively, Fayetteville forced five turnovers in the quarter to built a 21-5 advantage. "It's always a good sign when we jump out and score 16 points in the first quarter and Payton (Willis) hasn't even taken a shot," Adams said. "Defensively, we were very active. Our seniors, especially DeMaunte Youngblood. He was really active on both ends." Adams also praised his reserves, which took the 21-5 lead and increased it to 32-5 in the first two minutes of the second period. "Some of the guys that come off the bench have been sick the past few days so it was good to get them in the game and get a lot of minutes," Adams added. "That allowed them to play through some mistakes. Their play will benefit us down the road. The Bulldogs then forced the mercy rule by opening the third period with a 13-2 run, capped by a Drake Wymer jumper in the lane, for a 57-21 lead with 3:19 left in the quarter. Though the Rebels rallied, a layup by Max Hendry with two seconds left gave Fayetteville a 63-32 lead going into the final quarter. The Bulldogs had three players in double figures. Willis had 11 while Josh Breathitt and August Carlson each added 10. Austin West scored 9 points to lead Southside. GIRLS Fayetteville 75, Fort Smith Southside 49 For 23 minutes, the Lady Rebels kept pace with the Lady Bulldogs. The final 9 minutes of the game, though, belonged to Fayetteville as it pulled away to grab the 7A-West road victory. Southside trailed by just 48-38 with a minute left in the third quarter, having several chances and easy baskets that didn't fall in. In the final minute of the third period, two baskets in the lane by sophomore Jasmine Franklin and a 3-point jumper by Lauren Holmes put Fayetteville firmly back in control of the game at 55-38. The Lady Bulldogs (16-6, 7-2) pulled away from there, leading by as much as 68-40 with 3:32 left in the game. Franklin scored a game-high 30 to pace Fayetteville, which has a showdown at home Friday with first-place Springdale. Kelly Carson scored 24 to lead Southside, which plays at Rogers Friday. In the first half, the Lady Bulldogs tried to pull away from the Lady Rebels, using a 15-5 run to lead 32-17 with 3:02 left in the second quarter. Southside, though, refused to give in, finishing the half with a late flurry, capped by a Lani Meares' jumper at :01, to stay within striking distance at 38-28. Sports on 02/10/2016

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Fayetteville High School Athletics

BULLDOGS DOMINATE SOUTHSIDE

WALTER WOODIE

NWADG | 2/10/2016

PHOTO CREDIT: Fayetteville Athletics